ON PRO FOOTBALL

ON PRO FOOTBALL; Fontes Wants to Wipe Out a Wipe-Out Block

By Thomas George

Published: December 10, 1991

On further review, Wayne Fontes, the Detroit Lions' head coach, stopped short of accusing Jets fullback Brad Baxter of dirty play in the Lions' 34-20 victory over the Jets on Sunday.

The run block that Baxter threw low on nose tackle Jerry Ball while Ball was being blocked high by center Jim Sweeney will cost Ball the rest of the season because of the injury to his right knee sustained on the play.

Fontes talked with the National Football League yesterday morning and was told that type of block is legal on a running play and illegal on a passing play.

Fontes knows the severity and possibility of injury when the tactic is used is the same, regardless. He said he does not teach it and that the Lions do not use it. He wants the league to ban the practice, though other teams, notably the San Francisco 49ers, have employed it for several years.

Had Baxter gone after Ball's knees with his helmet while Ball was occupied by Sweeney was the initial and critical question.

Said Fontes: "I cannot say that, one way or the other. I'd be putting myself in that young man's head."

Lions right tackle Eric Sanders also suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sunday, and coupled with the loss of Mike Utley, who is paralyzed, the Lions have lost the right side of their offensive line. Former 49er and Indianapolis Colt offensive lineman Bubba Paris worked out for the team yesterday.

Add Pro Bowl linebacker Mike Cofer, whose injured right knee has prevented him from playing since the season's third game, and quarterback Rodney Peete, out since the eighth game because of an Achilles' heel injury in his right foot, and that makes five starters missing as the Lions seek to clinch a playoff spot. Detroit (10-4) finishes at Green Bay and at Buffalo.

Ball's grit, strength and leadership on the field will be sorely missed by the Lions, but he is the type of player who will remain involved and become nearly the equal of an assistant coach.

The younger Lions have been forced to grow up fast. Now they must grow up faster. Rookie Scott Conover, a fifth-round choice from Purdue, replaces Sanders, and right defensive end Dan Owens, a second-year player from Southern Cal, moves to nose tackle. Rookie Kelvin Pritchett from Colorado moves into into Owens's former slot. With the injuries and the fact the Lions play their last two games outdoors, where they are 0-4, their biggest challenges obviously lie ahead. Communication Gap

Ray Handley is to be judged in his first season as coach and those that follow by the production and developement of his team and its record. There is 7-7 and then there is 7-7.

Handley and the Giants are on the ugly side of 7-7 and eliminated from the playoffs, not given luxury on any doubts because they are essentially the same group that won the Super Bowl but have unraveled in cohesiveness and focus and output. Handley couldn't get good players to play well. One area that also may have been overlooked in the Giants' decline was communication.

When Eagles owner Norman Braman hired Rich Kotite to replace Buddy Ryan, he was excited about this fiery Brooklyn native who talked a grass-roots game. Handley hasn't experienced half of the obstacles Kotite has in his first season, yet Kotite beat him twice by a combined score of 41-29 even without his No. 1 quarterback, Randall Cunningham. The Eagles say Kotite speaks their language and sets a tone and a sense of urgency. No Giants player describes Handley as a deft communicator. He may be, but this season he was not nearly enough in the locker room or on the football field. Risky Business

The Washington Redskins have mastered interesting and effective formulas en route to a 13-1 record, the N.F.C. East crown and home-field advantage in the National Conference throughout the playoffs. One is this idea: In the first half of games, they try a blend of offensive ideas, even setting up plays for the second half. As the Phoenix Cardinals showed them on Sunday, it is risky business.

Phoenix led, 14-0, at halftime before the Redskins figured out where they would attack and outscored them, 20-0, in the second half. Playoff games are another arena. Playing only one half of solid football in the playoffs induces upsets for any team -- Washington included, even at home.